Toy house marble game



Oct. 14, 1952 R. A. KITSON TOY HOUSE MARBLE GAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1948 Oct. 14, 1952 R. A. KITSON 2,613,937

TOY HOUSE MARBLE GAME Filed March 17, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 14, 1952 R. A. KITSON 3,

TOY HOUSE MARBLE GAME Filed March 1'7, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 .H I 5 3L u Q C11 g :0 Q

W E 5' I g l.\ Q I lzwezzi oa' Maui-K1 1608 4 Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITED STATES PAT ENT QFFI'CE 1 Claim.

.The; present. invention relates to gamesand the like .and it relates more particularly to .marble games.

It .is an .object :of:the present invention to provide a gaming device .for marbles and the like, in theform of a demountable toyhouse.

Another .objectof the invention is the provision .of asimple and easily assembled structure for use-as a ball or.marble gamepand also as an-iat- .tractive building ,toy.

.Stated broadly, the present invention provides 'a..-knockdown structure having a chimneymem- .ber forming .a vertical conductor adapted for'the passage .oflspherical objects ..in .free fall {therethrough, means within the-erectedstructure and .inthe-path of .saidireefall. for altering saidpath,

arresting and conducting means beneath said paths, and passages "adjacent said conducting means leading to compartments outside the structure.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying'drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view 'of the assembled gamestructure;

Fig.2 isaztransverse sectional elevationoithe structure shownin Fig. .1;

1Fig.'.3 isga .detailedperspective view of theyc'himney element of .the. structure;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2, omitting the roof elements;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a floor member used as one of the marble-conducting elements for the structure;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of locking device or an assembly member for the structure;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of a porch or gallery member providing the marble-receiving compartments of the structure;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the walls of the structure in flat, demounted condition;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a marble deflecting member and assembly element of the structure; and

Fig. 10 is bottom view of the roof member for the novel structure, showing the tie trusses therefor.

The gaming device of the present invention is preferably in the form of a demountable toy house, and comprises a wall structure I, including the front la, ends lb and lo and back Id; a gallery or porch member 2; a roof 3; a floor 4; and a chimney 5. The roof 3 is provided on its underside with tie-trusses 3a and 3b as seen in Fig. 10 which areadapted to notchedly engage each othertorretain zthe Ehinged roof in peaked arrangement as shown iniFig. 2. The chimney 5 is provided witha reduced portion Beat the lower 'end1thereof,"-which" reduced portion is adapted-to b'etinserted and-be retained in an aperture 3c in the-roof 3. Gallery member Zis provided with a pair of shocks 2 8 'which are adapted for insertion into suitable openings therefor provided in the front 'a-wall member I a.

"The elevated 'fioor 4 is supported within the erected walk-structure 1, in inclined disposition toward the "gallery :2. Wall member la is pro- 1 I'd and:l'Iaopeningontothe'gallery'2 above the 'front of 'rsaid floor, 'assh'own in Figs. '1 and 2. Floor member --4has a plurality of deflectors 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d,- 4e, an'df4f fixedto the upper surface thereof as-shown in Fig. 5,these defiectorsservingto-form'guidepaths to the apertures In to is and to the marble-receiving compartments -2a, 2b,"2c, lidand 2c on the'galleryl. It will'be'ap- 'parent'from the foregoing description and from the 'severalviewsinthe drawing that aball or marble placed or dropped-on the floor 4 will roll =towardand=through oneof the'apertures la to 1e =andinto one of the compartmentson the gallery 2.

Chimney 5 is provided with a concentric pas- 'sage '6;wlii'ch maybe 'cylindrical as shown having sufiicient clearance for the free passage of a ball or marble therethrough. Immediately beneath the passage, and in substantially vertical alignment therewith, is a rounded impact member or deflector 111 secured to impactor support I and positioned in the line of fall of any marble or ball which may be dropped through the passage 6. Impactor support I is preferably inclined inwardly from the gallery-supporting front wall I c and thus is inclined in a direction opposite to the direction of inclination of the floor 4. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, support I at its outer end, is notched or dove-tailed into a cross slot 14 in the said gallery-supporting wall la of the structure, while its inner end is supported in spaced relation to the floor 4 by a detachable spacer piece 9 having notched ends locking in key-slots 15 in said support and IS in said floor 4. Outwardly of the impact member 1a, the impactor support I is provided with a port 1b of sufficient diameter to permit the free passage of a ball or marble, and rearwardly of the impact member 1a the impactor support is provided with a plurality of buttons 1c as may be seen in Fig. 9.

The structural units of the improved game apparatus may be produced from a semi-rigid sheet 3 material such as cardboard or other material having sufficient strength to provide self -support in the assembled structure. The balls or marbles and preferably the impact members, the deflectors and the buttons are preferably made of a more rigid and durable material.

The several disassembled units or elements or" the structure may be packed flatwise in a game box; the wall elements being hingedly connected by flexible tapes I0, cemented thereto, and the roof sides being similarly hinged at the peak by a tape [2. The individual units may be easily assembled by a child in erecting the building structure. The hinging tapes [0 and i2 may be attached by the maker or by the user of the game in erecting the structure. For compact packaging, at least one of the wall elements, for example the back wall Id, should be disconnected.

The marble game is played as follows: A marble or ball i3 is dropped into the chimney 5 through the port 6 through which it falls easily and drops onto impact member la. Impact member la is rounded on top, and the ball is thus deflected therefrom and falls onto the floor 4 Where it rolls downwardly toward the gallery 2. The ball encounters one or more of the deflectors 4a to f and is directed thereby to one of the apertures la to is, passing therethrough into the corresponding receiving compartment on the gallery 2, defined by the partitions 11 (Fig. 7). As will be noted in Figs. 1 and 8, the apertures la to la are each surmounted by suitable scoring indicia. It will be apparent that the novel device may be used by any number of players to provide an interesting and competitive game when each contestant is supplied with a specified number of balls or marbles which are used to produce and compute a total score. As has been stated herein before, the port lb on impact support I is of sufficient diameter to permit the free passage of a ball or marble therethrough. It will be apparent from the several views of the drawing, and particularly from the views shown in Figs. 2 and 4, that a ball deflected forwardly from the button ':'a falling through the port lb will generally be directed into aperture He, thereby obtaining the highest possible score for a single ball.

The provision of a marble game structure in the form of a demountable toy house enhances the interest of children in using the game and develops skills in assembling and disassembling the separable elements of the structure.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that many modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A game structure for marbles and the lilce, comprising a vertical conductor adapted for the passage of spherical objects in free fall therethrough, diverging means beyond said conductor in said fall-path, an inclined platform below said diverging means in said fall-path adapted to arrest said fall, a plurality of deflector members at the lower extremity of inclination of said platform forming converging runways therebetween, a receiving platform adjacent the restricted ends of said runways, and an aperture adapted for the passage of said spherical objects intermediate each of said ends and said platform, said structure being in the form of a building and having wa l members, a removable chimney constituting said vertical conductor, a removable support for said diverging means, a removable spacer piece for holding said support in elevated position with respect to said platform, said diverging means having a rounded impact surface, and said removable support having a port therethrough for passing an object deflected from said impact surface, a removable interior elevated floor constituting said inclined platform, a removable exterior gallery constituting said receiving platform, and means holding said removable elements in assembled position.

RALPH A. KITSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

